1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to reducing power usage in solid state storage devices and more particularly relates to ensuring that power consumption does not exceed specified parameters.
2. Description of the Related Art
Power usage matters a great deal in computing devices, and in a number of different contexts. In one context, most devices have specified power use thresholds that should not be crossed, or the device may be damaged. Certain systems may be physically configured to use multiple devices, but be unable to supply power to those devices under all conditions without doing damage.
For example, many computing systems (such as servers, laptops, desktops, etc) provide a Peripheral Component Interface (PCI) or PCI-express (PCI-e) that complies with a PCI specification. The PCI specification prescribes a minimum amount of power that the system must provide. Many systems offer a number of PCI slots for various components, but are designed with the assumption that no user will fully occupy the slots with devices that all consume the maximum amount of power permitted under the PCI specification. If a user were to insert multiple devices into the PCI slots that consume maximum power, the system may not function properly; either the devices may not receive the power they need, or the system may provide more power than it is designed to supply, risking serious damage to the devices and/or the system as a whole.
In other situations, reducing power can be a valuable way to improve battery life; batteries generally have not kept pace with the increasing power requirements of computing systems such as laptops, mobile phones, and others. In certain situations, a user may want to reduce the performance of the device in order to save power. In addition, certain components may provide functions that are very important to the user at a particular time, while others are not. For example, a good wireless connection may matter more to a user on the Internet than performance of storage on the device.
In short, users may need certain components to operate at less than their full potential in order to save power. The reasons the power savings are needed may vary, as described above.